PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – KOIN 6 News helped a Salem viewer get his money back after pressing Chase Bank about an unauthorized fraudulent wire transfer that stole $25,000 from his account.

Don Fensler emailed KOIN 6 News saying he was disappointed after banking with Chase all these years, that they didn’t treat his case with the urgency he says it deserved.

Fensler said he woke up and checked his Chase Bank account and saw a lot of money missing and noticed an outgoing wire transfer of $25,000 that he did not authorize.

His account showed a fraudulent transfer to a woman in Kerrville, Texas listed as “a business proposal. The chance to start a new life and become business partners for the better of both our sake.”

For the next 11 days, he said he got the run-around from his Chase Bank branch in Salem who told him to call a 1-800 number to file a claim and wait for paperwork in the mail, which never came.

“Still, it’s $25,000, money is gone. And I call up the bank manager and he says, ‘Well, we just have to go through the process. We’re trying to get the money back and you just have to wait.’ I mean, they gave my money away. I didn’t authorize this at all. They allowed somebody just to walk in and take my money,” Fensler said.

Fensler got so fed up that he contacted KOIN 6 News.

“I send you email, like at 9:00 in the morning, you answer like less than an hour later, like by 10:00,” Fensler said.  

KOIN 6 News contacted regional leaders at Chase Bank and shared the details of Fensler’s fraud case at his Salem branch and pressed them on an explanation.   

Within hours of KOIN 6 News’ inquiry, Chase Bank returned Fensler’s $25,000. In a statement to KOIN 6 News, Chase Bank said “We received the documentation we needed to resolve ­this and have spoken to the customer.”

Fensler said he would have understood waiting had he fallen for a scam, but he says the mistake slipped through the cracks on their end, and to go through that stress as unacceptable.

According to Fensler, he even called his local bank to let them know KOIN 6 News was involved and the manager got upset, said she could no longer help and hung up on him.

“At noon, the money is back in my account — $25,000, you know?” Fensler said. “So I mean, that’s kind of this whole story. Nothing happened that the Chase Bank either couldn’t or wouldn’t help me.”

While he feels like Chase Bank owes him for the time and money wasted on phone calls and in-person visits trying to fix this, he’s very relieved to have his money back.

“Anyway, I was really disappointed … but I’m really grateful to you,” he told KOIN 6 News.